Commander In the Thirty Years War

Battle of Breitenfeld part 1

"Chaarrrgggeee!!!" A voice bellowed on the battlefield. It was followed up with the thundering sounds of cannons firing into the distance. Psshh! The ground replied after being smashed with the heavy iron balls. Within the dirt whipped out from the artillery, the thundering sounds of hooves gathered as the men readied their pistols. As the cavalry neared the pike and shot formation, the pikemen stood firm. As I charged near the rest of the cavalry, I pointed the pistol, took aim and fired. Pulling on the horse's reins, we quickly sped off as the rest of the men fired away into the formation. As I turned around to look back, I could see the arquebusiers aiming to retaliate. But my eyes quickly caught the attention of a specific individual of the backrow studying the battlefield in great detail. He's a blond fellow with little hair on his head, his hair choosing to concentrate on his chin. The way many gather around him, only to leave soon afterwards on horseback, clasping a message in their hands, shows that he is not some random soldier. I smiled as I saw the man who will be the stepping stone for my greatness in the early modern era. On these crossroads near Breitenfeld, I lay my eyes on him, Gustavus Adolphus.

I would love to say that, such a great introduction, but I'm unable to see him in person. All I see is a giant wall of men holding pikes with arquebusiers hiding amongst them, ready to return volley fire. So I turned around and urged the horse to hurry up. While I put out a stoic expression for my comrades to see, I was screaming internally. "NOooo, we have to do it seven times, and then we will eventually route!!!!" I would love to change the outcome of the battle I do, but I have to survive this volley first.

"Crack!" The thundering sounds of the arquebus roared among the battlefield. Being highly inaccurate compared to modern rifles, they could only be used in a volley if you want to hit anything. Thus, men who pulled out too late was caught in the volley, and they slumped on their horse, falling onto the ground. The unlucky ones whose horses were shot resulted them being tossed onto the ground. As some cavalrymen chose to rescue their comrades, I, however, decided to reload my pistol.

Tearing a package filled with gunpowder with my teeth, I carefully tried to pour it into the barrel. Of course, since I'm horseback, some of it flew onto my attire. Taking out the wooden stick lodged under the pistol, I quickly stuffed the compressed gunpowder into the barrel. I took out an iron ball from the paper cartridge and placed it into the gun. Taking the very same stick, I rammed it into the pistol. And the gun was fully loaded, but it took around a minute...

As I gazed around my surroundings, I joined my comrades who were reading to make a pass by the Swedish formation. The Swedish pikemen held steady, the gunners within them still reloading from the volley they fired. As I made a pass, I whipped out the pistol, fired and quickly rode away. Have I hit anyone? As mentioned, due to firearms' inaccuracies, the rounds are wildly inaccurate, which is why some argue that the Caracole is a rubbish tactic. The Caracole is basically what I'm doing, getting close, taking a shot, before running away. As I rode away, I could see a large amount of men routing in the far right of the formation. Our fellow brothers were causing the enemy to the route.

On the far right, I could see a messenger on a horse riding towards the army's centre. He was heading right for Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. Tilly was the overall commander of chief of the military. Of course, I'm unable to spot him as well; I'm sure he's hiding behind a wall of men or something while I'm out of here risking my life.

A messenger was dispatched to our side, and one can easily see the look of joy on the messenger's face. The messenger quickly headed for the commander on the Imperial Left flank, Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim. Pappenheim quickly dispatched more messengers to the captain, Heinrich, who quickly bellowed to us.

"My fellow Curraissers! The Saxons have run away with their tails behind their backs! Victory is upon us!" Heinrich bellowed, resulting in cheers from the fellow Curraissers.